The Miami Heat striker has been ruled out Jimmy Butler For a Wednesday night game against the Trail Blazers in Portland.
Butler injured his right ankle late in the third quarter of Monday’s 115-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Heat didn’t offer any other updates on Tuesday other than being dropped from the Blazers.
“He turned it around,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said after Monday night’s loss. “If you talk to Jimmy now, he’ll tell you he’s fine.
“We have to evaluate him and see how he feels.”
Butler struggled with the injury when he went to put his right foot in motion, but he also appeared to lose his balance. He fell to the ground while catching the ball and was in pain when play stopped with 3:14 in the quarter.
Miami took a timeout and Butler had to be helped off the field by two Heat members, because he couldn’t put any weight on his ankle.
Butler has struggled with an injury to his right ankle this season. He missed three matches in November due to a sprained right ankle. He sprained his right ankle in a game against the Washington Wizards on December 28. He was sentenced against the San Antonio Spurs in a December 29 game which was eventually postponed.
Butler scored 22 points and five rebounds before injuring his last ankle. The Heat star has missed 15 games this season due to injuries. He missed four matches from November 29 to December 4 due to a tailbone injury. He came back for one game and then hit his tailbone again, forcing him to miss eight straight matches in December.
ESPN’s Om Youngmisuk contributed to this report.